Initial Impressions and Expressions

Well---welcome to Guatemala, unreliable Internet, water and electricity. I woke up my first morning to no water or electricity. After calling our landlord, we were informed that there was a city wide public announcement that they were going to be out all day until 6pm in the whole city…hmm somehow missed that public announcement…oh wait, it was in Spanish!

Really though- Pana is incredible! The people are all friendly, hard working and welcoming!

A few things I’ve learned: there is no toilet paper provided in public bathroom stalls, instead there is a dispenser right when you walk in and you are to take what you need prior to entering your stall…learned that quickly at the WalMart in Guatemala City. I took a shuttle from Guatemala City into Panajachel, which is about a 3 hour drive, however, my driver was an hour and a half late picking me up so I became the laughing stock of the Barcelo hotel, the white girl lugging around 4 bags, probably 200 lbs. worth of stuff, in and out of the lobby making phone calls to my shuttle driver. Yes, I befriended all of the bell boys after settling down on the bench in front of the lobby for the 4^th time, adjusting my bags just right so they don’t topple onto one another, “You ride is coming now?” “Yes, now they are really only 10 mins away” “You’re sure?”….

First stop, once my driver got there, WalMart. My roommate brought her cat to Pana and requested that I stop for kitty litter on my way, as it’s tough to find in Pana. Apparently our landlord just assumed that the cat would be going to the bathroom all over the house and was in fact shocked to see a toilet box for the cat. Well let me tell you…translating the concept of kitty litter is no easy task….El baño para los gatos (bathroom for cats)….I was given a strange look and then quickly escorted to the women’s restroom. No I am not ill, and I don’t need to go to the bathroom. I was finally successful when requesting cat food and found litter nearby. Similarly, I attempted Spanish small talk with Pedro, my driver. I tried to tell him I liked birds, and wanted to learn the birds of Guatemala. The next thing I know he’s headed for a drive-thru chicken restaurant, similar to a KFC….oh boy, I guess my Spanish isn’t as useful as I’d anticipated. I’ll learn quickly, and in the mean time, I’m ok with being the comical relief of the group.

Pedro holding up my sign! #feelingfamousinGuatemala

First glimpse of the volcanoes of Lake Atitlán (San Lucas, Sandiego, and San Pedro)

Home sweet home....there's Panajachel (bustling town right on the lake)

Our house is beautiful, tucked on a little quiet street about 5 minutes from the school. Our landlord, Rodrigo, is a father of 10, and just the sweetest, most responsive guy. He’s incredible for US landlord standards, so for Guatemalan standards he is an absolute saint! My roommate casually mentioned that we use the living room a lot and we’ve been putting our feet up on one of the chairs to relax. A few days later he comes to the house with a custom made coffee table from the town over!!! We haven’t met our neighbors yet but there’s nothing quite like going to bed to the Star Wars theme song played by what sounds like an entire marching band just a few houses down….we haven’t quite gotten to the bottom of this one, but for the past few nights I’ve fallen asleep to a chorus of brass instruments, with full on drum line and all!

A few pics of the outside of our house. I need to unpack and tiny up the inside before publishing photos...

The streets of Pana are bustling all the time. The main street, Santander, is full of street vendors and cafes. I’m already starting to recognize people! This morning I’m perched up in one of my new favorite spots, Café Moka, a little coffee shop right down by Lake Atitlán, owned by one of the school director’s friends.  I anticipate spending a lot of time here! Well I’m off to the open house at school. I’ll post more about the school and my classroom in the next entry. Much love to everyone! Thanks for following along!